Tag Archives: pasture

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Geese, Pasture, Dusk

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Geese, Pasture, Dusk
Geese, Pasture, Dusk

Geese, Pasture, Dusk. San Joaquin Valley, California. March 1, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small group of Ross’s geese feed in a San Joaquin Valley pasture as dusk arrives

As a winter afternoon begins to turn into evening in the San Joaquin Valley on a day of photographing migratory birds, a familiar ritual begins, with variations depending on various factors — the weather, the month, and which birds are about. Not long before it becomes too dark to photograph I begin to seek out a place to be at the end of the day. The ideal locations includes some combination of interesting birds, a compelling sky, and a location that lets me combine the two.

This was a rather quiet evening, and it had the feeling of being late in the winter season. The numbers of birds had diminished quite a bit, even compared to only a couple of weeks earlier. High clouds and haze filled the sky and began to take on the colors of evening. We went to one likely bird spot, found few birds, spotted a fly-in some distance away, and headed over to this spot where a group of Ross’s geese was on the ground, feeding in a pasture. As the last light angled across the birds, I made this photograph of mostly sky, one of the last of the day.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Sunset Sky, Trees

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Sunset Sky, Trees
Sunset Sky, Trees

Sunset Sky, Trees. San Joaquin Valley, California. March 1. 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter sunset sky above San Joaquin Valley trees

After a weekend photographing (and socializing!) in Yosemite Valley we headed back toward the San Francisco Bay Area, leaving the Valley early enough to make a stop along the way at one of our favorite bird locations. We arrived in the late afternoon and found a medium size group of Ross’s geese on a pond, but too far from us to photograph them effectively. What’s more, as we watched they began to leave, and before long there were few left at all. However, off in the distance I thought I saw groups of them beginning to land in a pasture next to a roadway that would provide access, so off we went to check this out.

There was a decent sized flock there, but they also moved off from our position and were just a bit too far away for great photography. We waited for a while, hoping that they might move back our way, but it never happened. However, the sky compensated a bit — just after the sun set a beautiful, colorful glow appeared in the western sky and I photographed the effect above a row of trees that I’ve had my eyes on for some time.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Ross’s Geese, Evening

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Ross's Geese, Evening
Ross’s Geese, Evening

Ross’s Geese, Evening. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 1, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ross’s geese on a winter evening in the San Joaquin Valley

The first day of 2015, spent in the San Joaquin with friends and fellow photographers, began in tule fog. However, the fog cleared earlier than it sometimes does, and most of the day ended up sunny, though with the typical Central Valley haze in the air. We photographed through the morning, took a long break for lunch, and then returned to photograph here again in the afternoon.

A few weeks earlier there had been almost no geese around, but a big group of them showed up to join our New Year’s Day party, and in the evening we found them settling in on pasture land. Here the group stretches of into the distance, a row of big trees is on the horizon, a few birds in the air, and the day is almost over.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Ross’s Geese, Foggy Pasture

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Ross's Geese, Foggy Pasture
Ross’s Geese, Foggy Pasture

Ross’s Geese, Foggy Pasture. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 1, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ross’s geese take off from a foggy San Joaquin Valley pasture

I’ve been out to the San Joaquin Valley quite a few times over the past few months, beginning in the last months of 2014, when there were not yet too many birds there, and as recently as a couple of weeks ago, when large numbers of geese and cranes had returned. (This was a bit of a relief, since many wondered where the birds had gone, especially after this string of drought years in California.)

Our visit to the valley on New Year’s Day was especially nice. Not only did a small group of us literally greet the dawn of the new year in the company of thousands of birds, but we were pleased to see the numbers of the birds had begun to increase again. Among them were the Ross’s geese, who appeared in rather large numbers. While the morning fog was still in the air, though thinning enough to let faint sun through, large groups of them had settled in on the pasture land. The birds were constantly coming and going, as new groups arrived and others left, and as they moved one spot to others nearby, often for reasons that I could not discern. In this photograph the large group still on the ground was in the process of leaving, with a new group taking to the sky every few moments.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.